Exploratory Study on Consumers’ Motive to Accept Mobile Marketing in the Emerging Market; Tanzania

Abstract

The global communication revolution from traditional land line to mobile phone, has significantly give pace to the innovation of mobile marketing that reach large number of customers with less cost . The means that allow direct interaction and personalization to the target audience based on time and location, has been practiced in many countries as well as in Tanzania  in order to reach the target audience and increase efficiency in marketing strategies. The acceptance of the means is gradually low and not consistence to the countries practiced this form of advertising, due to the diverse motivating factors driving to the acceptance of this form of mobile marketing. To date there is scarce researches concerning the motivating factors of consumers’ willingness to acceptance and respond to the mobile marketing in Tanzania context, This exploratory study aim to fill this gap, focusing on investigating the driving factors for the acceptance of mobile marketing in this emerging market Tanzania, where this marketing communication channel is in its embryonic stage, and the success depend upon the acceptance of the consumer.  Theory of reasoned action (TRA) and Use and Gratification framework applied on examining the consumers’ behavioral intention to receive and use the SMS advertising. There were 336 valid responses analyzed via Liner Regression and Structural Equation Model in Amos version21.

The results statistically confirms that social norms and attitude are the factors affecting behavioral intention, but social norms has much influence than attitude to influence behavioral intention to accept mobile marketing. Informative nature of the mobile marketing has strong influence on attitude toward the acceptance, perceived utility also is a significant driver on attitude. Incentive has weak motivation to attitude, but is a significant driver to behavioral intention to accept mobile marketing. Perceived risk and trust have insignificant relation to attitude. Shared content is a significant driver to behavioral intention through social norms.

The effect of permission as the pre requisite in sending mobile advertisement, and cultural diversity within Tanzanian context has been ignored in this study. The study will provide insight to marketing practitioners in Tanzania on creating the SMS ads that characterized with motivating factors that will influence consumers’ behavioral intention to accept mobile marketing.

Keywords: Mobile marketing: Attitude: SMS advertising: Behavior intention